Attempt to add fee doesn’t hold water

Question: The house I rent was just sold, and the new property owner wants me to start paying the water bill in two months. She gave me a 30-Day Change of Terms notice.

I’m on a two-year lease that ends in eight months. Do I have to start paying for the water in two months?

Answer: The landlord cannot require you to pay the water charges until your current lease ends. But she has several options to transfer payment of the water charges to you.

At the time the lease is renewed, she can offer you a new lease that requires you to pay for water service. If she wishes not to continue with your lease and you become a month-to-month tenant, 30 days before the lease ends the two of you can sign a new month-to-month rental agreement that requires you to pay for water.

Or she can wait for you to roll over to a month-to-month tenancy and then give you a 30-Day Change of Terms notice (similar to the one you just received) stating the water charges are now your responsibility.

Either at the end of your current lease or the beginning of a month-to-month tenancy, your landlord is allowed to remove her name from the utility account. In this case, the water could be shut off if there is not a new account established in your name.

You should verify this procedure with the utility company.

Manager can limit outdoor smoking

Question: I have lived in my apartment for several years on a month-to-month rental agreement. When I moved in, my rental agreement stated that smoking was prohibited inside my unit. Although I am a smoker, I have obeyed this rule and have always smoked outside on my balcony.

The resident manager has now warned me that smoking on the balcony is not allowed. Can the manager enforce this?

Answer: A nonsmoking rule can be imposed in a rental agreement or lease, in the same manner as any other limitation, such as prohibiting business activity on the premises. Since the limitation is in your agreement, you have already accepted it.

Absent any specific distinction between the balcony and the rest of your unit in the language of the no-smoking clause, the limitation would apply to your entire rental premises, including your balcony.

But if management has knowingly allowed you to smoke on the balcony, it could be argued that it has accepted the practice. In that case, the manager should give you a 30-Day Change of Terms notice clarifying that the balcony is now designated as a nonsmoking area.

Even without the balcony included in your rental agreement, the owner might be able to forbid smoking in the common areas of the premises, including your balcony, on the argument that secondhand smoke is a danger to other tenants.

Refusal based on disability is illegal

Question: I own a three-story apartment complex and have a vacancy on the third floor. One of the applicants meets all the financial requirements and has an excellent rental history. The problem is that he is blind, and I feel that the stairs leading to the third floor would be dangerous for him to maneuver. Additionally, he has a seeing-eye dog, and I don’t allow pets.

Since I do not want him to be injured, I think I should deny his application. Can I do this?

Answer: If, as you say, this applicant meets all your requirements, you cannot deny his application solely because of his disability. He has applied for a unit and is capable of making decisions about what his capabilities are and what living arrangements best suit his needs. To refuse him based on his disability is a violation of both state and federal fair housing laws.

As far as your “no pets” policy, a seeing-eye dog is not considered a pet but a support animal. These animals are designated to help people with mental and/or physical disabilities. You cannot deny any applicant based on the presence of a support animal.

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This column is prepared by Project Sentinel, a rental housing mediation service in Sunnyvale, Calif. Questions may be sent to 1055 Sunnyvale-Saratoga Road, Suite 3, Sunnyvale, CA 94087, but cannot be answered individually. For housing discrimination questions, call the state Department of Fair Housing and Employment at (800) 233-3212.